Climate Amenities, Climate Change, and American Quality of Life

David Albouy (), Walter Graf (), Ryan Kellogg and Hendrik Wolff ()
Additional contact information
Walter Graf: University of California, Berkeley

No 7339, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We present a hedonic framework to estimate U.S. households' preferences over local climates, using detailed weather and 2000 Census data. We find that Americans favor an average daily temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, will pay more on the margin to avoid excess heat than cold, and are not substantially more averse to extremes than to temperatures that are merely uncomfortable. These preferences vary by location due to sorting or adaptation. Changes in climate amenities under business-as-usual predictions imply annual welfare losses of 1 to 3 percent of income by 2100, holding technology and preferences constant.

Keywords: temperature profiles; quality of life; climate change; climate amenities; heterogeneous preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H49 I39 Q54 R10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 76 pages
Date: 2013-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env, nep-hap and nep-res
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (30)

Published - published in: Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 2016, 3 (1), 205–246

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Related works:
Journal Article: Climate Amenities, Climate Change, and American Quality of Life (2016)
Working Paper: Climate Amenities, Climate Change, and American Quality of Life (2013)
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